FantasyPros » Site Updates

Did You Receive Our Holiday Gift?

dave — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:53:28 +0000

I hope you all didn’t think I was kidding when I said we were going to give you a holiday gift. We gave away $7,815 last week thanks to our 1,364th place finish in our own Beat the Expert contest (out of 1,576!). We’d like to say we picked bad players on purpose (yes, we started Sexy Rexy as our QB), but our sponsor might not like that answer too much.

This week might be a little tougher since we’re bringing in our heavy guns — the top three expert performers this year in this contest (they each beat out over 90% of the field). Andy Behrens from Yahoo, Chris Wesseling from Rotoworld, and Justin Sablich from The NY Times are all playing in this final “Championship” week. Beat all three experts and you’ll win $10. Finish in the top 11 and you’ll win a share of the $1,000 prize pool. This is your last chance to win free money!

If you’re already NFL’d-out, then I’ll take this opportunity to let you know that we launched consensus fantasy basketball rankings. The NBA gets started this Christmas Day. Finally!

If MLB is more up your alley, you’ll be pleased to know that we’re working on launching some cool stuff for fantasy baseball. Give us a hand by filling out this very short survey. Thanks!

Happy Holidays and enjoy the game tonight!

Free Weekly Contests: Where to Compete for Cash

dave — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 17:41:28 +0000

There’s a guy in my league that’s 0-8. His record got me thinking about what I would do if I had no chance of making the playoffs. After punching a hole in my wall, I’d probably have a clearance sale of my top players. You know, accept a bench player + a twelve-pack of beer as fair trade value. I’m not the commish this season, so I’m cool with shady behavior.

The next thing I’d do is scratch my competitive itch by playing at one of the weekly fantasy football sites. These sites let you play for cash and prizes one weekend at a time. No season long commitment. If you’re 0-8, it’s a great way to win back your league buy-in. If you’re 8-0, it’s a great way to make money with your proven superior knowledge of the game.

We’ve introduced some of you to one of these sites, FanDuel, through our exclusive $1,000 Beat the Expert contest and our Start/Sit Accuracy Challenge. FanDuel’s been a great partner and I’m not just saying that because they sponsor our great prize giveaways. We’ve already given away more than $20,000 of their money this season!

There are literally dozens of these sites with more launching every week. To help you find the best ones, we’ve put together a new Contests & Games page. The content there will be updated periodically to share great promotions and offers from the top daily fantasy sites.

So if you’re feeling the itch and you can’t hop on a flight to Vegas, I suggest checking out one of the sites we recommend. Oh, and despite my gambling references, playing daily fantasy games for cash is a legal activity. Scratch away!

The Roundup: Headline News for Week 9

Jenny — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 04:53:10 +0000

Just when I thought my brother’s team had finally gotten over all the bye week and injury problems, we got the news on Friday morning that his No. 2 running back had re-injured his hamstring during practice for the second straight week and would likely miss yet another game. What a disaster Peyton Hillis has been so far for his fantasy owners! I think we’d better get to this week’s news before I start losing my mind and cursing him out…

Wide Receivers:

Hakeem Nicks is listed as questionable for this Sunday’s game against the Patriots: His hamstring injury has held him out of practice all this week, and according to FF Today, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz get an automatic boost in their projections if Nicks can’t play.

Andre Johnson will miss his fifth straight game this Sunday against the Browns with a hamstring injury: Jacoby Jones, Kevin Walter and the Tight Ends have been trying to fill Andre’s big shoes while he’s been out.

Hines Ward is listed as questionable but expected to be active this Sunday against the Ravens: After missing last Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, he returned to a limited practice on Wednesday.

Oakland announces the signing of T. J. Houshmandzadeh: The Raiders will presumably use him as a slot receiver, with either Jacoby Ford, Darrius Heyward-Bey or Denarious Moore coming off the field. Houshmandzadeh will also likely play this Sunday - at least on third downs in the slot - against the Broncos.

Running Backs:

Darren McFadden has been ruled out for this Sunday’s game against the Broncos with a sprained foot: Michael Bush is expected to start this week in McFadden’s place with Taiwan Jones as the backup running back for the Raiders.

Ahmad Bradshaw is listed as doubtful for this Sunday’s game against the Patriots: His foot injury has held him out of practice all this week. According to Rotoworld, Brandon Jacobs would be a top-20 fantasy back if Bradshaw sits out.

Chris Johnson remains Titans’ starter at running back: Despite being called “the biggest bust” as well as “the toxic fantasy asset” of this season by many, Johnson will remain Tennessee’s starting running back, according to Coach Munchak. However, given the fact that he was outperformed by his backup, Javon Ringer, in last week’s game against the Colts, fantasy gurus like Andy Behrens from Yahoo!Sports believe Ringer has earned a greater role in the Titans’ ground game going forward.

LeGarrette Blount will likely return to the starting lineup this Sunday against the Saints after missing two games with a left knee sprain: He is also expected to be the Bucs’ primary third-down back going forward with Earnest Graham lost for the season with a torn right Achilles.

Ryan Mathews is listed as questionable for this Sunday’s game against the Packers with a groin injury he suffered in Week 8: With Mathews’ availability for this week in question, Mike Tolbert is expected to get most of the touches at running back this Sunday.

Montario Hardesty will be sidelined at least two weeks with a torn calf muscle he suffered during last Sunday’s game: With Hardesty injured, the Browns were hoping Peyton Hillis would return to action this week after missing the last two games. However, Hillis re-injured his hamstring during Friday’s practice and is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks. As a result, Chris Ogbonnaya is likely to start for the Browns this Sunday against the Texans.

Felix Jones will miss his third straight game this Sunday with a high ankle sprain: DeMarco Murray is expected to start in Jones’ place once again this week against the Seahawks.

Daniel Thomas is likely to be a game-time decision for this Sunday’s game against the Chiefs: According to Rotoworld, if Thomas ends up sitting out his second straight game this week, Reggie Bush should easily lead the Dolphins in touches this Sunday, though Steve Slaton and Lex Hilliard may be mixed in as well.

Mark Ingram will mis his second straight game this Sunday against the Bucs with a heel injury: With Ingram sidelined, Pierre Thomas and Christopher Ivory should again split early-down and short yardage work with Darren Sproles assuming his typical passing-down role.

Tashard Choice has been ruled out for this Sunday’s game against the 49ers with a hamstring injury after being claimed off waivers by the Redskins earlier this week.

Quarterbacks:

Sam Bradford will be a game-time decision for this Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. A.J. Feeley will start if Bradford can’t play.

Kevin Kolb is listed as doubtful for this Sunday’s game against the Rams with multiple injuries: John Skelton is expected to start at quarterback if Kolb can’t play.

Tight Ends:

Fred Davis is listed as questionable but expected to play this Sunday against the 49ers: He returned to practice on Thursday from an ankle sprain and will likely be active.

Jermaine Gresham is likely to be inactive this Sunday against the Titans: His hamstring injury has held him out of practice all this week, and he is expected to sit out this week’s game. Donald Lee will fill in.

That about wraps it up for us this week. Enjoy the games and good luck everyone!

Week 9: Top 2 Experts vs. the Field

neumann — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:26:53 +0000

To put it simply, the top experts we tracked were on their game last week. Once again, the bulk of the advice they handed out in our weekly roundup vs. the field was on target (Fred Davis is the only clear miss).

Before we get to the top experts’ week 9 advice, here’s a quick recap of last week’s players they liked & disliked compared to the field, and how each player ultimately performed.

Week 8 Rewind

Players “Liked”	Points Scored	Players “Disliked”	Points Scored
Knowshon Moreno (DEN)	7.4	BenJarvus Green-Ellis (NE)	.9
Javon Ringer (IND)	10.2	Chris Johnson (TEN)	5.1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI)	11.4	Vincent Jackson (SD)	4.9
Tim Tebow (DEN)	13.2	Dez Bryant (DAL)	2.8
Alex Smith (SF)	13.3	Fred Davis (WAS)	9.4
Heath Miller (PIT)	8.5	Dan Bailey (DAL)	1
New England D/ST	7
Jacksonville D/ST	6
Lawrence Tynes	8

Week 9 Likes/Dislikes

Now let’s check out where our top 2 experts (by position) disagree with the remaining experts this week. As always, the players the top experts “like” are highlighted in green while the guys they “dislike” are marked in red.

RB

Top Experts: Pat Fitzmaurice (ProFootballWeekly) and Staff Composite (SI.com)

Willis McGahee (@ OAK)

Top 2: RB #18

The Field: RB #30

Pierre Thomas (vs. TB)

Top 2: RB #30

The Field: RB #23

Welcome back, Willis McGahee. After missing last week with a hand injury, he’s back in time for a nice match-up at the Raiders. Our most accurate RB experts like him as a top 20 back this week while the remaining experts put him 30^th. With Moreno in the fold and Tebow taking some runs, it’ll be interesting to see if McGahee gets enough work to justify this ranking. Pierre Thomas made for a great fill-in last week @ St. Louis. That game didn’t exactly go as expected, but Thomas still snagged 9 fantasy points—not bad for a bye week filler. Even with Mark Ingram out, the top experts don’t endorse Thomas this week vs. the Bucs.

WR

Top Experts: Michael Fabiano (NFL.com) and Staff Rankings (Fantasy Football Freaks)

Larry Fitzgerald (vs. STL)

Top 2: WR #11

The Field: WR #7

Antonio Brown (vs. BAL)

Top 2: WR #36

The Field: WR #30

It’s not often we see Larry Fitzgerald outside the top 10 at his position. The top WR expert consensus slots him 11^th at home against the Rams. The Rams defense doesn’t get much credit, but they have had tough match-ups this year (PHI, NYG, BAL, GB, DAL, NO). They did an extraordinary job with the Saints last week, and they held Colston to 50 yards on 3 catches. Add in the immortal John Skelton likely subbing for an injured Kevin Kolb, and that’s probably why Fitzgerald is ranked lower than usual. Antonio Brown has been a fun story the last couple of weeks, but the most accurate experts don’t expect much out of him this week in Baltimore.

QB

Ross Miles (ProFootballFocus) and Staff Rankings (FFToolbox)

Tim Tebow (@ OAK)

Top 2: QB # 9

The Field: QB #13

Matt Ryan (@ IND)

Top 2: QB #11

The Field: QB #7

Matt Cassel (vs. MIA)

Top 2: QB #18

The Field: QB #11

The Colts pass defense is nothing special (they have 0 interceptions in the last 5 weeks). So why do our top QB experts have Matt Ryan as low as QB # 11 this week? Well, the Colts run defense is also underwhelming (they give up an average of 144 yards per game on the ground). This could be one of those games where Turner goes nuts and the Falcons don’t need to throw. You shouldn’t be surprised to see some disagreement over Tim Tebow once again. For the 2^nd straight week, he salvaged an otherwise poor fantasy performance with a late TD drive. The top experts rank him 9^th, indicating that they expect a better performance at Oakland this week. Matt Cassel led the Chiefs to a big win over San Diego on Monday Night Football, but the top expert consensus doesn’t like him this week against Miami.

TE

Pat Fitzmaurice (ProFootballWeekly) and Sigmund Bloom (FootballGuys)

Zach Miller (@ DAL)

Top 2: TE #12

The Field: TE #31

Jason Witten (vs. SEA)

Top 2: TE # 8

The Field: TE #3

TE rankings tend to be fairly similar from expert to expert, but that’s not the case this week. Our accuracy leaders must know something I don’t because they rank the always-dependable Jason Witten way down at #8 this week. On the other end, the TE specialists rank Zach Miller 12^th compared to the remaining experts who place him outside the top 30. Miller has 10 catches for 99 yards… on the whole season! (5 games played).

D/ST

Michael Beller (SI.com) and Staff Composite (SI.com)

New York Jets (@ BUF)

Top 2: D/ST #2

The Field: D/ST #12

Atlanta Falcons (@ IND)

Top 2: D/ST #13

The Field: D/ST #8

As hot as the Bills offense has been, our best D/ST experts have no reservations about using the Jets D/ST this week at Buffalo. They also don’t like the Falcons match-up against Peyt… I mean, Curtis Painter and the Colts.

K

Kevin Roberts (NFL Soup) and Pat Fitzmaurice (ProFootballWeekly)

Matt Bryant (@ IND)

Top 2: K #1

The Field: K #8

Stephen Gostkowski (vs. NYG)

Top 2: K #2

The Field: K #7

The Falcons should have no trouble moving the ball this week at Indianapolis. I’m a bit surprised that the field of experts ranked Bryant as low as 8th. The Patriots offense has been good, but not great lately. Our top kicker experts expect the Patriots offense to click this week.

—

I’ll be back again next week with another breakdown of the players the top experts like and dislike. In the meantime, don’t forget to sign up for our (free) Beat the Expert contest vs. Chris Wesseling (Rotoworld). There’s a $1,000 prize pool at stake and Chris is playing to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research.

Best of luck this weekend!

Photo Credits: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6

The Roundup: Headline News for Week 8

Jenny — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:08:36 +0000

The pure joy my brother and I felt after his team pulled off the luckiest and the most improbable win of this season on Monday night unfortunately didn’t last long, as we found out the very next day that one of his precious running backs was lost for the season with a torn ACL he suffered during last Sunday’s game. Indeed, Week 7 created so many injury situations all around the league. We’ll get you caught up with this quick summary of all the most important news from the week.

Before we get to the headlines, though, I’d like to remind everyone to get your Start/Sit Challenge picks in for this week. We’re giving out prizes to the top 50 entries and you’ll also be able to see exactly where you rank among the 70+ experts we track. It only takes 2 minutes to answer our 10 “Who would you start?” questions (unless you agonize over them like I do). Now onto the news…

Wide Receivers:

Andre Johnson will miss his fourth straight game this Sunday against the Jaguars: He’s been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Week 5, and although he returned to practice and made some progress this week, he’s still not at full speed yet and will sit out another week.

Percy Harvin is listed as questionable but expected to play this week: He returned to a limited practice on Thursday with a rib injury, and despite the questionable tag, he is likely to be in the lineup for this Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

Malcom Floyd is listed as questionable for this week: The hip injury he suffered during last week’s game against the Jets has limited him in practice this week, and it looks like he is headed toward a game-time decision for Monday night’s game against the Chiefs.

Hines Ward is listed as questionable but highly unlikely to play this Sunday: His ankle injury has held him out of practice all this week, and he is expected to miss this week’s game against the Patriots.

Santana Moss is expected to miss 5-7 weeks after undergoing surgery on his fractured left hand on Monday.

Running Backs:

Marshawn Lynch is expected to be active for this Sunday: He returned to a full practice on Thursday after suffering a back injury in Week 7 and is likely to be in the starting lineup for this week’s game against the Bengals.

Mark Ingram has been ruled out for this Sunday: The heel injury he suffered during last week’s game against the Colts has held him out of practice this week, and he will be sidelined for this week’s game against the Rams.

Daniel Thomas is listed as questionable but expected to be active for this week: He returned to a limited practice on Thursday with a hamstring injury, and despite the questionable tag, he will likely play this Sunday against the Giants.

Mike Tolbert will most likely miss this Monday night’s game against the Chiefs with a hamstring injury.

Peyton Hillis is listed as questionable for this week: After suffering a setback during Wednesday’s practice, his availability for this Sunday’s game against the 49ers remains in doubt.

Joseph Addai is listed as questionable for this week: He returned to a full practice on Friday, and will most likely be a game-time decision for this Sunday’s game against the Titans.

Jahvid Best will be sidelined for the second straight week with a concussion: He’s been ruled out for this Sunday’s game against the Broncos and will be held out through the Lions’ Week 9 bye.

Beanie Wells is listed as questionable for this Sunday: He returned to a limited practice on Thursday with a knee injury and will be a game-time decision for this week’s game against the Ravens.

Cedric Benson will serve his one-game suspension this week and therefore miss this Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.

Tim Hightower is out for the rest of this season with a torn left ACL he suffered during last week’s game against the Panthers.

Earnest Graham is done for the season with a torn Achilles tendon: The Bucs placed him on the injured reserve list on Tuesday.

Willis McGahee has been ruled out for this Sunday: His hand injury has held him out of practice all this week, and he will be inactive for this week’s game against the Lions.

Quarterbacks:

Matthew Stafford is listed as questionable but expected to play this Sunday: The ankle injury he suffered in last week’s game against the Falcons has limited him in practice this week, but he is likely to start this week against the Broncos.

Sam Bradford has been ruled out for this week: He’s been held out of practice all this week due to an ankle injury and will sit out this Sunday’s game against the Saints.

Matt Moore is listed as probable for this Sunday: Despite nursing a bruised rib injury, he returned to a full practice on Wednesday and is expected to start this week’s game against the Giants.

Tarvaris Jackson is listed as questionable but likely to start this Sunday against the Bengals: His pectoral injury has limited him in practice this week, but despite the questionable tag, he is expected to play this week.

Tight Ends:

Chris Cooley is out for the season with a combination of injuries: The Redskins placed him on the injured reserve list on Tuesday as a result of a broken finger and complications from a knee injury he suffered previously.

Benjamin Watson is listed as questionable for this week: He returned to practice on Friday after suffering a concussion during last week’s game, but his status for this Sunday’s game against the 49ers remains uncertain.

Todd Heap is listed as questionable for this Sunday: He was limited in practice this week due to his hamstring injury and will be a game-time decision for this week’s game against the Ravens.

That does it for us this week. Enjoy the games everybody and good luck!

Photo Credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1,002 Winners Last Week. Who’s In This Week?

dave — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:35:20 +0000

We gave away over $6,000 last week in our Beat the Expert contest. There were over a thousand winners! If you were one of the few losers, don’t worry because you have another shot with this week’s expert, John Paulsen. Those of you that have been with us since last year know that John’s an A-list celebrity in the fantasy football world. He happens to be our reigning accuracy champion from 2010 and is currently in 3rd place this year.

John runs The Fantasy Shrink and is a contributing editor at 4for4.com. If you like his combination of size (former college basketball player) and skill (degree in industrial engineering), you can follow him @FantasyShrink.

So what’s in it for John? He’s playing for the American Heart Association. A wonderful organization whose sole mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. I know many of us have personal reasons to support this cause, so I was happy John chose to play for them. The more players John beats, the more likely his charity will earn a donation. FantasyPros will give out a total of $2,000 to charities this season through our Beat the Expert contests. It’s our way of making sure everyone wins!

Get more details about our Beat the Expert contest, or…

Also, don’t forget that we have a quick weekly start/sit challenge that’s also free to play. Just answer our 10 toughest “Who would you start?” questions to see how you stack up to the pros. We’ll compare your score with every expert we track, and the top 50 entries win a prize. Test your fantasy football accuracy!

My Playbook Enhancements: Stay One Step Ahead

dave — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:51:40 +0000

My opponent started two players on their Bye last week so he wouldn’t have to drop them. Not a horrible strategy given that he’s the top team in a 16-team league (if you drop any remotely valuable players, they’ll get swooped up in a nanosecond). Turns out my pathetic team still lost to him so he’s been doing the cabbage patch dance in my face since the MNF game.

But look, it’s obvious that he got lucky. Any smart manager would have planned accordingly to make sure he had 11 men on the field at all times (yes, I know throwing one week to optimize the rest of your season is a legit strategy. . . I’m just venting). To help you special My Playbook subscribers do a little forward thinking, we launched a few new features this week:

New Strength of Schedule Matchup Calendar

Know how difficult each player’s rest of season schedule is
View week-by-week opponent and average points allowed
See each player’s current rank and rest of season rank on one screen

Enhanced Rest of Season (ROS) Rankings

Customize the experts to create custom consensus ROS rankings
View weekly rank trends to know who’s moving up and down in value
Get a quick read on which players still have a bye week left

All of the above features are customized based on the rosters in your leagues. You’ll always see color coded rows that denote your players, available players, and taken players. There’s also one click access to your league’s page so you can quickly manage your teams.

We also expanded our Flex offering last week with 22 Flex rankings compiled. We expect that to grow this week as we continue to build the largest database of expert Flex rankings on the web. As with our other consensus rankings, you can pick and choose the experts you want.

If you’re already one of the thousands of subscribers, enjoy the new features!

If you haven’t jumped on board yet, get My Playbook now »

MATCHUP CALENDAR SCREEN SHOT

First Half Sleepers and the Experts Who Loved Them

dave — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:58:11 +0000

Can you believe we’re almost at the midway point of the fantasy football season? Since we’re close to halftime, let’s take a quick look back to see which experts nailed the most surprising studs from the first half of the season. Whether these players can keep up their numbers is obviously more important to us, but that’s what Consensus Rest-of-Season Rankings are for (updated on Tuesday afternoons).

The most “unglamorous” stud running back in fantasy football has to be Fred Jackson. Maybe it’s because he plays for a team that hasn’t really been known for high powered offenses, or because the team plays for a city that isn’t known for being all that sexy (please, no hate mail. . . I happen to LOVE Buffalo wings and Niagara Falls). More likely, though, it’s because he’s an undrafted 30-year old RB from Coe College with a very unoriginal name. Only “John Smith” could be less exciting.

The staff at Chinstrap Ninjas (cool name, btw) were documented Fred Jackson fans. They had him as their #17 RB despite a consensus opinion of RB #26. If you followed their draft advice, Fred Jackson is likely on your team. Unfortunately for me, I fell for C.J. Spiller’s first round draft pedigree and assumed he’d pass up Mr. Unglamorous.

Is there any bigger surprise than Cam Newton’s ascension into the elite tier of fantasy quarterbacks? We all love QBs that can run (outside of the squinting we do every time they’re about to get popped), but did anyone think he’d be passing up a storm and putting up so many TDs?

Well, Smitty from FantasyFootballXtreme and Sigmund Bloom from FootballGuys were clearly sending smoke signals this Preseason. They both had Newton ranked as their #19 QB while the consensus opinion was QB #27. Following their advice would have landed you a QB2 with tons of upside…upside that starting paying dividends in week 1.

We have Smitty documented with the following preseason player note on our site, “Elite in the making, we don’t care what anyone says. Hate him all you want, we believe and we have made that clear this offseason.”

Let’s run through a few other surprise studs from the first half of the year and see which experts believed in them the most.

Matt Forte
Preseason ECR: RB #12
Best Rank: RB #3
Top Expert: Louis Tranquilli
Site: BFD Fantasy Football

Wes Welker
Preseason ECR: WR #19
Best Rank: WR #9
Top Expert: Smitty
Site: Fantasy Football Xtreme

Steve Smith (CAR)
Preseason ECR: WR #32
Best Rank: WR #18
Top Expert: Dave Baker
Site: FootballGuys

A.J. Green
Preseason ECR: WR #34
Best Rank: WR #19
Top Expert: Jeff Terfertiller
Site: FootballGuys

We have a lot of football left to play, but it’s clear these guys were on to something when they touted these players. We’re tracking the accuracy of the 73 experts we have draft rankings for, so we’ll have a full report card after the season is over. Until then, keep up with our Weekly Accuracy leader board.

It’s halftime in the MNF game and I need Ray Rice to score 10 points. Yes, that was a miserable first half to watch. Let’s hope for some fireworks in the 2nd half of the game (and the season)!

Photo Credit: Link 1 & 2

The Roundup: Headline News for Week 7

Jenny — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:16:21 +0000

We rarely see any major deals being made at the NFL’s trade deadline. But with trades involving a wide receiver who led the league in receiving yards last year and a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback going down, as well as the announcement of quarterback changes in Minnesota and Washington, it has been a very interesting and busy week in football. Let’s get right to the headlines and find out who’s in and who’s out…

Wide Receivers

Broncos trade Brandon Lloyd to Rams: In getting Lloyd from Denver, the Rams gave up a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft that could become a fifth-round pick if he catches 30 passes this season for St. Louis.

Mike Sims-Walker returns to Jaguars: Sims-Walker, who was released by the Rams earlier this week, was signed by the Jaguars on Wednesday who are in need of a deep receiver.

Andre Johnson is ruled out for this Sunday: The hamstring injury he suffered in Week 4 will keep him out again this week against the Titans.

Julio Jones is listed as doubtful for this Sunday: After missing last week’s game with a hamstring injury, he is expected to be inactive again this week against the Lions.

Running Backs

Jahvid Best is ruled out for this Sunday: Due to the concussion he suffered in Week 6, he will sit out this week’s game against the Falcons, and the timetable for his return remains unclear. Maurice Morris will start at tailback this Sunday.

Peyton Hillis is listed as questionable for this Sunday: His hamstring injury has limited him in practice this week, and his status for this week’s game against the Seahawks remains uncertain.
Felix Jones is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain.

NFL reduces Cedric Benson‘s suspension to one game: Benson, who is on bye this week, will serve his one-game suspension next week and therefore will miss the Bengals’ game against the Seahawks in Week 8.

LeGarrette Blount is ruled out for this Sunday: For the second straight week, his knee injury has held him out of practice, and he will be inactive again this week against the Bears. The Bucs are targetting Week 9 for his return. Earnest Graham will carry the load for Tampa Bay during Blount’s absence.

Tim Hightower is listed as probable for this Sunday: He returned to a full practice on Wednesday from a shoulder injury and is expected to play this week against the Panthers. However, his workload for Week 7 remains unclear.

Joseph Addai is listed as questionable for this week: He returned to practice on Friday from a hamstring injury and will be a game-time decision for this Sunday night game against the Saints.

Quarterbacks

Carson Palmer is now a Raider: Campbell suffered a broken collarbone injury in Week 6 and is likely to be sidelined for a minimum of 6 weeks. With Campbell injured, the Raiders acquired Palmer in a trade with the Bengals on Tuesday. However, in order to give Palmer more time to be ready, the Raiders will start Kyle Boller this Sunday against the Chiefs.

Sam Bradford is listed as questionable for this Sunday: The high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 6 has limited him in practice this week, and he will be a game-time decision for this week’s game against the Cowboys.

Tarvaris Jackson is listed as doubtful for this Sunday: He’s been limited in practice this week due to his pectoral injury and is expected to be inactive for this week’s game against the Browns. Charlie Whitehurst will start if Jackson can’t play.

Vikings bench Donovan McNabb, Christian Ponder will start: With the Viking at 1-5 and McNabb struggling, Coach Frazier announced on Tuesday that Ponder will be the team’s starting quarterback.

Rex Grossman is out and John Beck is in for Redskins: Coach Shanahan announced on Wednesday that Beck will be the team’s starting quarterback. Beck will make his first NFL start since 2007 this Sunday against the Panthers.

Tight Ends

Antonio Gates is listed as probable for this Sunday: He returned to practice on Friday from a foot injury and is expected to be active this week against the Jets.

Chris Cooley is expected to be out indefinitely: Coach Shanahan confirmed on Monday that Cooley would have surgery on his fractured left index finger on Wednesday. While recovering from his finger surgery, Cooley will also seek additional medical opinions on his troublesome left knee.

Zach Miller (JAC) is done for the season: Jaguars placed Miller on the season-ending injured reserve list on Tuesday as a result of his shoulder injury.

Kickers

Sebastian Janikowski may be out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.

That about wraps it up for us this week. Make sure you don’t miss out on our free $1,000 Beat the Expert contest where you can go heads up against our top expert, Scott Pianowski from Yahoo. Or, see how you stack up against all our experts with our $500 Start/Sit Accuracy Challenge. Enjoy the games everybody and good luck!

Week 7: Top 2 Experts vs. the Field

neumann — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:58:11 +0000

The last few weeks, we have taken a look at where the top 5 experts and the remaining experts disagreed in their weekly rankings. This week, we add a twist. Some experts have a knack for predicting certain positions better than others. Using the top 2 experts at each position, we examine how their week 7 rankings differ from the rest of the field.

As always, the players the top experts “like” are highlighted in green while the guys they “dislike” are marked in red.

RB

Top Experts: Sigmund Bloom (Football Guys) & Pat Fitzmaurice (ProFootballWeekly)

Marshawn Lynch (@ CLE)

Top Two: RB #10

The Field: RB #20

James Starks (@ MIN)

Top Two: RB #28

The Field: RB #23

Check out that disparity on Lynch! Our top RB experts apparently expect “Beast Mode” Lynch to show up in Cleveland. He does have a TD in each of his last 2 games, but doesn’t ranking him ahead of Earnest Graham, Beanie Wells, Darren Sproles, and Steven Jackson seem a little excessive? It’s tough to question the two most accurate experts at running back this season, but this is Marshawn Lynch we are talking about. I, for one, am very intrigued to see how this plays out (almost intrigued enough to watch a Seahawks vs. Browns game). On the other side, the accuracy leaders expect less from Starks than the remaining field of pundits. They have Starks just 3 slots ahead of Ryan Grant (#28 and #31).

WR

Top Experts: Staff Rankings (Fantasy Football Freaks) & Mike Woellert (FantasyFootball.com)

Santana Moss (@ CAR)

Top Two: WR #15

The Field: WR #21

Mike Thomas (@ BAL)

Top Two: WR #44

The Field: WR #32

Brandon Marshall (vs. DEN)

Top Two: WR #14

The Field: WR #11

Greg Little (vs. SEA)

Top Two: WR #28

The Field: WR #22

We get some juicy results at wide receiver this week. I’m not surprised at the disagreement over Marshall. The guy gets plenty of targets and could have easily scored 2 TDs on Monday night. As a Marshall owner, I don’t know whether to be encouraged by the red zone targets, or discouraged by the drops (and the running out of bounds with a clear path to the end zone). Our top two wide receiver experts place him at a very respectable #14, but the Field likes him at #11. The Top 2 like Santana Moss at #15 this week (1 slot behind Marshall) compared to #21 for their counterparts. Greg Little has emerged as potential top target for Colt McCoy, but our most accurate WR experts don’t trust him as much as the other rankers. Mike Thomas is getting targeted a lot in Jacksonville, but that matchup at Baltimore is enough for the most accurate experts to disregard him in all but the deepest of leagues (#44).

QB

Top Experts: Scott Pianowski (Yahoo! Sports) & Staff Rankings (FFToolbox)

Matt Cassel (@ OAK)

Top Two: QB #16

The Field: QB #13

Curtis Painter (@ NO)

Top Two: QB #21

The Field: QB #17

No Quarterback in the top 12 varied more than 2 slots, so we have to dive a bit deeper to find some compelling ranking disagreements. Cassel seems to get better each week, but the top experts temper their expectations of him at Oakland. Painter finds himself in an intriguing matchup at New Orleans. Chances are he’ll be throwing a lot, but again, the top guys aren’t sold just yet. They would rather roll the dice with Palmer or Moore this week.

TE

Top Experts: Pat Fitzmaurice (ProFootballWeekly) & Andy Behrens (Yahoo! Sports)

Antonio Gates (@ NYJ)

Top Two: TE #5

The Field: TE #9

Dustin Keller (vs. SD)

Top Two: TE #14

The Field: TE #11

Welcome back, Antonio Gates. The Chargers announced he will play this Sunday in New York, although they also said he would likely get some breathers throughout the game. Even knowing he won’t play a full game, our 2 best TE experts rank him 5^th this week in front of Pettigrew and Fred Davis. The Field doesn’t feel nearly as comfortable with Gates (9^th). Dustin Keller has only caught 5 passes in his last 3 games and the top 2 TE consensus doesn’t expect much from him this week either.

D/ST

Top Experts: Dave Dameshek (NFL.com) and Staff Projections (Fantasy Sharks)

Denver Broncos (@ MIA)

Top Two: D/ST #8

The Field: D/ST #13

San Diego Chargers (@ NYJ)

Top Two: D/ST #12

The Field: D/ST #9

Curiously, our leading D/ST experts like the Denver Broncos this week. Yes, the Denver Broncos. They’ve allowed an average of 28 points per game, but the best D/ST experts like the match-up with Miami. They are not so hot on San Diego this week, dropping them to #12 behind Cleveland (vs SEA) and Oakland (vs KC).

K

Top Experts: Pat Fitzmaurice (ProFootballWeekly) and Kevin Roberts (NFL Soup)

Dan Bailey (vs. STL)

Top Two: K #1

The Field: K #5

Matt Bryant (@ DET)

Top Two: K #6

The Field: K #10

Kickers are a fickle bunch, but fantasy points are fantasy points. The most accurate Kicker experts like Dan Bailey at the top spot overall, and they give Matt Bryant an endorsement against Suh and the Lions.

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I’ll be back again next week for another breakdown of the players the top experts like and dislike. In the meantime, don’t forget to sign up for our (free) Beat the Expert contest vs. Scott Pianowski (Yahoo! Sports). Scott is currently rated as the #1 expert in our accuracy competition so this is your chance to go up against the best of the best. And as if the opportunity to match wits with our top expert wasn’t enough, there’s also a $1,000 prize pool at stake.

Good luck to everyone this weekend!

Photo credits: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6